View from the Arch

We have our first visitor in Saint Louis this weekend. Our friend Elsa came into town yesterday to help Xina as she sets up her lab at Wash U, and at the same time she’s going to help us explore the bars, restaurants and other places we’ve been meaning to go in town. Our goal for the weekend is to only go to places that Xina and I haven’t been yet, so that as we act as tour guides for Elsa we’re also learning more about our new adopted city.

First thing on the agenda was, of course, the arch. We had been down to see the arch several times (and we run down there nearly every day) but we had been waiting to take the trip up into it for when guests were here. Wednesday evening at sunset was a pretty good time to go – the wait was short. All in all it’s a bit of an anti-climax, the top is, well, a curved space covered in carpeting with some sketchy looking stairs at either end and some windows. To be sure, the view is great, and it’s a bit of an odd feeling knowing that you’re standing over an open space taller than the Seattle Space Needle.

It was fun and I’m glad that we took the time to do it, although it’s unlikely that I’d do it again. I find the arch to be so completely fascinating from the outside that the slightly dumpy interior didn’t work for me. I’m working on a post about the arch with some images that I’ve taken since I’ve been here, more on that later. I do know that I’ve taken a lot of photos of the arch already, and I’m sure to be making a whole lot more.